Kyunki News Bhi Kabhi Pavitra Thi….

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Is it just me or has news become like a soap opera. What happen to quality journalism. I have always been a big fan of Indian journalism, however recently I am disturbed every time I switch to a news channel. If you didn’t know better, you would think you are watching a saas bahu serial.

The purpose of news is to reports events as they happen in an unbiased fashion, allowing viewers to form their own opinions and judgements. But news today comes ‘ready to serve’, spoon fed to the public. One of the key factors that has fueled this trend is the advent of 24×7 news . Currently in India there are over 100 news channels (national and regional) all competing  for viewership (TRP ratings), which translates into more sponsorships and greater profits. Unfortunately,  there is only so much news to go around. To attract greater viewership news channels have to be different, and are shifting from the old-fashioned model of ‘reporting’ news to ‘creating’ news.

Once you give media the power to ‘CREATE’ news, you have created a incestuous relationship between media, politics, and corporate interest.  The result is what we are witnessing today. The Indian public has to ask itself : Do we really want this? Are the channels catering to market demands or are they creating a new product for the market? Do we need to become a victim of yet another form of consumerism? Individuals have to make a conscious decision to stop supporting news networks that sensationalize news. Do not let journalism become hostage to corporate and political agendas. IF YOU DON’T WATCH IT, THEY WON’T AIR IT!

If the current trend continues, we will soon find ourselves watching: Kahin Des Mein Ayahoga Bhookamp, Pavitra Politics, Kahin To Hogi – News, Is Election Ko Kya Naam Doon, Ads Se Bhare Naina, Parliment Gandha phool………..

Africa…..The Circle of Life

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Last night my husband and I returned from a 10 day trip to Africa. It is hard to capture in words the expanse of what we saw. We went to Tanzania and  Zanzibar  and did a 5 day safari. Even though we decided to invest in a high tech camera for our trip, I don’t think we were able to capture the beauty that surrounded us. The virginity of the landscape, the wildlife, the people, and the culture made one feel as if we had come back full circle to where it all started.

To experience where life as we know it started, was both a grounding and humbling experience. One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Masai village. It seemed like the Masai have frozen in time.  They lead a humble existence, but are satisfied. It was fascinating to see their lack of dependence on the rest of the world. They did not need any imports from china, nor did they need money to buy ‘things’. Their existence was self sufficient.

Self sufficiency, a rare commodity, highly prized in a world facing financial crisis. But in today’s world  ‘progress’ and  being ‘self sufficient’ seem mutually exclusive choices. The Masai have clearly not ‘progressed’ by world standards. But what is ‘progress’?  Is progress having a good credit rating, is progress owning new gadgets, is progress having a big house. Why is progress defined by what we own or the potential of what we can own?

As the developed world redefines ‘progress’, and is slowly coming to the realization that we need to be self sufficient, we need to preserve our environment and nature, we need to reduce reliance on  finite natural resources, be less consumerist, less greedy, the developing world continues their quest towards ‘progress’. Each at a different level of realization and evolution in the circle of life. It makes me wonder do we all evolve in the same way? Is evolution completing  the same circle of life? Or can we learn from others mistakes, journeys and lessons, creating our own circle of evolution.

In today’s changing world evolution is still taking place, but it no longer can bee seen though changing physical characteristics and adaptations, but instead it is our intellect, self realization that defines how evolved we are. After all the progress if we have come to the same realizations that the Masai have held dear for centuries, who has really evolved and who has completed their circle of life?

Bol….Speak The Truth For Your Lips Are Free

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Yesterday I watched the movie Bol.  I found the movie to be both touching and disheartening. It brought forth the naked realities of our society. But more importantly it questioned the role of religion in our society today. Critics would argue that these things happen in all societies, which is very true. However it is only in Muslim societies that the law, Sharia Law, gives criminals a safe haven and moral justification to continue purporting heinous crimes in the name of religion. It blurs the line between a victim and a criminal.

I am a practicing Muslim women, and it dared me to question who are we as Muslims? what is Islam? who is Islam for?  I can no longer buy into the argument that it is not Islam that is flawed but Muslims. If an ideology consistently produces wrong results then the ideology is flawed. If a curriculum cannot prepare students for a test,  and keeps failing them, then you have to change the curriculum, you cannot keep blaming the students.

The Quran itself  does not possess flaws any greater than those in other organized religions or scriptures, however its unique claim that it is for all times and forever has become its greatest flaw. It is the elastic band which prevents Muslims from progressing economically, socially and morally. It keeps pulling us back to 1400 years ago, to standards set for uncivilized, barbaric and depraved Arabs. It has stunted the growth of the Muslim mind and hence Muslim society by claiming to be perfect and forever……in doing so it has taken away the need for any improvement, evolution or growth.  Imagine if the pagans in Mecca 1400 years ago, or other ancient civilizations, had made similar claims that our beliefs and lifestyle are for all times, then Christianity, Judaism, Islam or the civilized world as we know it, would not exist today. For any civilization to continue to grow and progress they have to accept change and continue to evolve. Unfortunately the ignorant Pagans seemed to be more open-minded than  Muslims today are, who cannot accept change or new ideas.

We can no longer mask our weaknesses under the cover of discrimination, conspiracies, and human error. Religion is for Humans, IT HAS NO OTHER PURPOSE. In over 1400 years if Islam has not been able to correct Human errors then it might be an obsolete ideology. Muslims today have to  acknowledge that Islam was for a certain time, place and people  and make changes to address current problems, injustices  and issues that are being faced my Muslims today. Just like all other religions and even some Muslim sects have done. Or we have to face the blasphemous truth that the Quran is a flawed document and not a divine revelation. Because my God cannot be unjust, my God cannot condone killing, hitting and enslaving people, my God cannot discriminate, my God cannot be merciless and my God cannot be an ego maniac…..in any time , ever.

As a Muslim I refuse to accept these false revelations, which have become justifications for punishing, enslaving, marginalizing and killing men, women and children. Our honor is not being compromised by women, eunuchs or gays, it is being compromised by mullahs, sharia law, religious leaders, Islamic republics, and the current Islamic Ideology.  I want to urge Muslims, to think, reflect and question. Stop buying into the dogma. Stop Defending it. Stop justifying it. Stop ignoring it. It is blasphemous to stay quiet…..Bol.

Pakistan….failed state or failed dreams?

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Everywhere I go these  days there is  a mention of Pakistan being a failed state. There is always some news about it on television, or in a magazine . I am not a Pakistani, I am an Indian, yet the mention of Pakistan stirs up emotions in me. It’s failure, it’s moral and economic rape bring anger, a sense of shame and a sadness.

I try and understand why does Pakistan create these emotions in me. I am not from Pakistan and yet I share a strange connection to it. Contrary to what most Pakistanis want to believe, this relation is not a relationship of hatred, envy or jealousy.  It is a connection of shared cultures, religion, genes and maybe even a shared dream.

In (undivided) India, many families had to let go of loved ones, in hope of a better future. I am a product of  such a family, a family divided across the border. Crossing a distance of 30miles (from Lahore to Amristar) in months and years, burdened by visa restrictions, political tensions, fear of war and endless threats.

The creation of Pakistan divided lands, lives and families . It brought the  demise of  a 600 year old legacy of coexistence.  It was a message to the rest of the world that Muslims can not and will not tolerate differences.  Even though Muslims had always been a minority in the subcontinent, they insisted they will not will not be a minority unless ruling. They seemed to have spoken on behalf of all Muslims and in doing so they brought into question the loyalty of Muslims who chose to remain in India or other ”non-Islamic’ countries.

With its conception, Pakistan  not only  promised Muslims a better life, it also introduced the idea of a homogeneous society. Across the world it stirred desires in Muslims for an Islamic Republic.   Its  professed ideology, Islam, was unprecedented as a glue for nationalism, as no nation state had yet been created on the basis of Islam. It introduced the idea that two different groups, with different ways of life,  cannot coexist in one nation and thus should have the right to secede (The Two-Nation theory). These ideas however flawed, traveled beyond borders, throughout the Muslim world.They resonate even today amongst Muslims across the world. However the Two Nation Theory did not take into account the expanse of the phrase “different ways of life”. The phrase “different ways of life” which was coined for Hindus and Muslims, soon encompassed  ethnic and sectarian differences, and continues to plague the Muslim world.

Today when I see the state of Pakistan it makes me angry and sad. It reminds me of the anguish and helplessness my parents, grandparents and many others like them felt when they could not meet their children, siblings, parents and other loved ones. It reminds me of the number of deaths and births we could not share together. It reminds me of the number of celebrations we could not celebrate together. It reminds me of the number of people who lost their lives trying to make this dream a reality. It reminds me of the endless lives which have been claimed due to sectarian, ethnic and religious violence. It reminds me of all those innocent people who continue believing in this dream …..For What?

These sacrifices of emotions and lives were given because they believed Muslims would be physically safe and their religion secure in a new nation called Pakistan. Instead, within six decades Pakistan has become one of the most violent nations in the world. Not because Hindus are killing Muslims , but because Muslims are killing Muslims.  But were Islam and Muslims so weak that they could not survive as a minority presence? Pakistan was not a child of great vision, hard work or principles. On the contrary it was the result of a glorified past and an uncertain future.

Maulana Azad  repeatedly pointed out that Islam cannot be the basis of nationhood; perhaps it required a scholar of Islam to comprehend what an anglophile Jinnah could not. Islam did not save the Pakistan of1947 from it’s own partition in 1971. With the failure of Pakistan the Muslim dream is shattered and the broken glass can be felt by every Pakistani, and every Muslim across the world. Just like the dream, the pieces of glass cannot be contained within Pakistan’s border.  Pakistan is not a failed state……it is a failed dream, a flawed dream.

The pain I feel at the mention of Pakistan is from the shards of glass, which will be felt by all of us a for a long time to come.

The Missing Role Model

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Is God a role model for most people? A friend forwarded an article to me about Humanizing Religion. It made me wonder that in order to humanize religion do we need to humanize God. In most religions God has a human form: Jesus,  Ram, Vishnu, Shiva,  Laxmi, Parvati, Radha, Krishna,  Buddha, Zeus.

As I think about it, religions which idealize God and emulate him/her seem to create better societies. Maybe it is because by making God a role model, we make perfection our  bench mark . Where as in Islam in an effort to avoid any form of idolatry, we cannot create any image of God. We cannot visualize him, or emulate his qualities, even though the Quran says that God created us in his image, yet we have made him unattainable and incomprehensible.

But in doing so we have not been able to take away the human need for a role model. The human need to humanize. Instead our role model has become the Prophet. Muslims  idealize him, adore him and aspire to be like him. Ironically though as much as Islam wanted to steer away from creating any image of God or the Prophet, with the sole fear that people would start worshiping them, that is exactly what it has created. We have become the biggest idol worshipers of the Prophet.

Muslims want to dress, eat, live, marry, pray,  go to war,  do everything like the Prophet did……we in essence worship him.  Instead of emulating perfection in spirit we are trying to perfect human routines. Religions which humanize God, try and emulate God’s eternal and ethereal qualities. Christians don’t want to look like Jesus they aspire to be like him. Hindus do not dress like Vishnu or Shiva  they try and emulate their virtues, Buddhists do not spend their lives under a tree but try and attain peace and happiness.

I wonder if some of the problems we see in Islamic societies today are because of how Muslims perceive God.  Are we  missing our role model, or do we have the wrong role model?

Upload Your Life and Download Others’ – in just one click

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Facebook, a phenomenon that has a changed the way we live. Well not quite the way ‘we’ live. My husband and I have tried hard to keep away from the world of social networking. Yes as shocking as it sounds, “we are not on Facebook”.  I wonder though how long we can hold up. The world, over 700 million people,   seem to (increasingly) be using Facebook as the preferred if not the only form of communication.

But what is it about Facebook that makes it so appealing?  Social networking sites existed long before Facebook, however none has been as successful, or as far reaching. None has been able to captivate such a diverse audience and hold their attention on a daily, hourly and in some cases minute by minute basis.

I think the reason for it is the “FACE” part of the equation. Facebook caters to the voyeur inside all of us. In a world of reality television, 24 hours news, and real time reporting, ‘Facebook’ allows us to peek into people’s  lives ‘real time’.

Not long ago you had to open page 3 in a newspaper or pick up one of those glossy magazines to get news, gossip and see photos of celebrities. Now Facebook allows us all to become page 3 celebrities.Just through a click, we can upload our life and download others’.

As I hear people share their Facebook experiences, I realise that an average Facebook user falls into two distinct categories. Those who you will find endlessly posting pictures, comments and news about themselves on Facebook.  They are not really living life, but  busy capturing it for Facebook. Then you have those who claim they do not post pictures or comments, however they log into Facebook several times a day to see others’ pictures, comments and updates. They are busy living vicariously through others.

For most people today Facebook is really  just a daily soap…..except the characters are friends, family and acquaintances. It is an addiction, crossing boundaries, gender, race, social strata and age. It truly is connecting the world……whether it is a positive or negative connection time will tell.

And The Countdown Begins…

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Recently it seems like there is a wave of parents in town, all coming to visit their sons, daughters, grandchildren. Last night while we were out meeting some friends for dinner, somebody said ‘it is nice to see all the oldies having fun and socializing with their friends’. It suddenly struck me how I had never thought of my own parents as ‘oldies’.  I have to admit that even though I am in my 30’s, in the equation I had created in my head, I was still viewing them as a ‘young’ couple and us as their children – and together we make a  nucleus.

In reality though, the equation has changed. They are no longer ‘young’. Even though it always seemed like they were the happening ones, with the busy social lives, making decisions, and  still in charge of the family…. the nucleus of the family has shifted.

This thought saddens me. Why? I myself don’t completely understand. May be because it is part of the circle of life and somewhere in it I can see my own reflection. I feel all our lives we are busy running after the next milestone. Soon after we are born, we are waiting to crawl, then walk, then talk, then start school, then go off to college, get our first job, find our soul mate, have children, buy our first house…..an endless list of milestones we are counting towards. Suddenly, somewhere along the line the countDOWN begins, and we don’t even realize it.

Our life seems to shift from a growth mode to a downsizing mode. Everything around us starts to shrink: our family, our friends, our square footage, the size of our car, our wardrobe, our appetite, our needs…and even our dress size . All the things we had amassed, worked hard for and accomplished over the years slowly go away, just as they came.You eventually even lose the basics skills you had mastered as a child: the ability to walk, run, climb stairs,  dress yourself.  It is like hitting the rewind button and watching your life in reverse.

You are slowly and sometimes painfully watching  the clock,  waiting for the countdown to end….but when the countdown started you never really knew.

Good Things Come in…..Packages

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As I interact with people, I realize that people come in packages. We all are a set combination of characteristics and traits, which make us who we are. Viewing people as a package helps me understand, appreciate and accommodate their strengths and weaknesses.

We always wish that people were a customized prototype of our wishes. However in building our own custom model, we forget that as we add features we might end up losing the basic functionality that we desire.

A person’s dominant traits are a result of their inherent personality, thinking, mindset and quirks. We can tweak the packaging a little but changing it completely means we need to change the content.  We need to ask ourselves how much we value the content, and is it worth changing the packaging for…….

“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.”

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In a time where we have become used to  instant gratifications, it is easier to change than to grow. Change is instant, where as growth is an ongoing journey.  Maybe that is the reason more and more people prefer to change than to grow.   Change is a more deliberate act, giving us instant and visible results. Growth is a summary of our choices and life’s journey. It is not as easily measurable, nor is it as instantly gratifying.

Literally speaking, Change implies making either an essential difference often amounting to a loss of original identity or substitution of one thing for another. Growth is  progressive development. It is something that has increased and developed in a gradual beginning or coming forth been attained in the process of growing.

I think growth is a process and a goal on its own. It is always relative to its beginning, and therefore anchored to it. Making it a gradual and a more grounded process. Change I believe is the path to growth .You have to make the right changes in order to chose the right path.  Change cannot be a goal in itself. Since change involves some kind of transformation it is always isolated from its beginning and not in sight of it’s goal.

John Maxwell said “If we are growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone”. Growth only happens when we are comfortable enough to be pushed out of our comfort zones. Where as change happens when we are not comfortable with ourselves to start with.

These  two words are so closely related and intertwined,  yet they are so different. Change is a key ingredient for growth, but more and more of us are valuing change as a goal in itself. We want to change our image, our clothes, our style, our cars, our lifestyles, our homes, our looks and we believe in the process we can induce growth.  We are so busy changing that somewhere we have stopped growing.

Liberal or Conservative?

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liberal– adj

tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition. Favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

Conservative– adj

favoring the preservation of established customs, values, etc, and opposing  innovation or change. A person who is reluctant to change or consider new ideas

When I read the definition of these two words I wonder “who am I, a liberal or a conservative?”  I strongly believe in and value customs and traditions. I am religious, I dress conservatively- what does that make me?

These are my personal beliefs and choices, and I believe that each person has the right to their personal beliefs, whether those beliefs or choices are liberal or conservative.  It seems that in order to ensure that I can keep my individual, conservative choices, I HAVE TO BE LIBERAL.

Being liberal or conservative is not about YOU. It should have very little to do with  your views on gay marriage,  or abortion, or whether you go to church or not, or how you dress. Being a Liberal or Conservative is about how you view others choices.

If you believe your opinion, whether liberal or conservative, has the right to exist, then how can one be a conservative. If you are a conservative then you have given someone, somewhere in the world,  the right to extinguish your opinion and bulldoze their own: that someone can be a priest, a Taliban, a preacher, a follower, a fascist, a racist or a terrorist.